In the television sitcom, "Laverne and Shirley", the opening scene
always starts of with both Laverne and Shirley skipping while reciting
a phrase that starts off with something that sounds like "...one, two,
three, four, five, six, seven, eight...". What is that phrase? I asked
several friends (a few of whom are television sitcom buffs) and they
couldn't figure it out. Is that phrase in any way related to the
sitcom itself?

Howdy dho1115-ga,

The Wikipedia entry for the "Laverne & Shirley" show provides the
opening phrase for us.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laverne_and_Shirley

"In the beginning, the girls are skipping down the street, arm in
arm, reciting a hopscotch chant : 'One, two, three, four, five, six,
seven, eight! Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!'"

Schlemiel and schlimazel are Yiddish words, defined by the online
Free Dictionary as follows.

Schlemiel.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/schlemiel

"A habitual bungler; a dolt"

Schlimazel.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/schlimazel

"An extremely unlucky or inept person; a habitual failure."

This "Word for the Weak" archive entry points out that the two are
usually linked together.
http://jonzer.com/blog/archives/2005_08.html

"A schlimazel can be concisely described as a born loser. No discussion
of schlimazel could be complete without mentioning his counterpart:
schlemiel, a habitual bungler. They go together:

A schlemiel is one who always spills his soup, schlimazel is the one on
whom it always lands.

A schlimazel's toast always falls butter-side down. A schlemiel always
butters his toast on both sides."

As for hasenpfeffer, that is a German word.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hasenpfeffer

"A highly seasoned stew of marinated rabbit meat"

The phrase was just the introduction to the theme song "Making our
Dreams Come True" as written by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox.  The
rest of the lyrics can be found on the Blackcatter's "World of TV
Theme Song Lyrics" website.
http://www.cfhf.net/lyrics/laverne.htm

"In 1976 the theme song was popular on the radio and charted as
high as #25 in the Top 40.  This was [Cyndi] Grecco's [the woman
who sang the song] only hit."

Even though the openng phrase is a typical nonsensical hopscotch or
jump rope chant, the description of a schlemiel and a schlimazel does
capture a certain aspect of the characters of "Laverne & Shirley."

According to this Associated Press article by Beth Harris titled "The
Milwaukee girls are back in 'Laverne & Shirley' special," the phrase
might have been originated by Penny "Laverne" Marshall.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/entertainment/s_69963.html

"As a young girl, Penny Marshall hoofed it to school in the Bronx.
Along the way, nonsensical phrases floated through her head.

"'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight,' she'd chant out
loud. 'Schlemiel, schlimazel, Hasenpfeffer Incorporated.'"

If you need any clarification, please feel free to ask.


Search strategy:

Google search on: "Laverne & Shirley" schlemiel
://www.google.com/search?q=%22Laverne+%26+Shirley%22+schlemiel

Google search on: schlemiel schlimazel "Norman Gimbel" "Charles Fox"
://www.google.com/search?q=schlemiel+schlimazel+%22Norman+Gimbel%22+%22Charles+Fox%22

Free Dictionary searches as outlined above.

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher

Thanks for the answer and the references!

And:

Hasenpfeffer (literally, "peppered hare) is a traditional German stew
made from marinated rabbit or hare.

In American culture, Hasenpfeffer features most prominently in the
theme song to the television series Laverne & Shirley, and in the Bugs
Bunny cartoon Shishkabugs (1962).

From Wiki!

The name of the brewery was actually Shotz (imortalized by Matchbox!
http://i2.ebayimg.com/01/i/06/1f/81/91_1.JPG) so the Hasenpfeffer Inc
does not specifically refer to their work place.

My pleasure, dho1115-ga, and much thanks for the 5 star rating and nice tip!

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher